Thursday, March 13, 2008

On our second day in Houston we ventured out of the windowless convention hall to explore a more personable region of the city. Maria, mamma Hilary and I caught the 82 bus across from our hotel and quickly arrived at the intersection of Westheimer and Dunlevy, the heart of the Montrose neighborhood. Because there are few zoning restrictions in Houston, Montrose is home to an eclectic mix of homes, restaurants, shops, and gay bars. There is an undeniable Southern charm to this area, despite an occasional patch of strip mall (is Houston not the definition of urban sprawl?) The majority of the architecture incorporates aged bungalows with semi-renovated interiors. Ivy and flowering vine cover a typical facade. This format gives the impression that one is in a sleepy bohemian town rather than a city of 2.14 million.

We dug through a handful of the many vintage and second hand shops that line Westheimer. I made a few parsimonious purchases, including an unused pair of Keep skimmers in their green African print (SCORE! Perhaps you have seen the knockoffs at Old Navy this spring? Gah, this NOT a fashion blog.) We met up with Maria's college friend and her Devandra-channelling boyfriend for Thai. They served purple sticky rice just like Ithaca. It was a lovely evening. I think we were all relieved to see the Houston that lies beyond the soulless business district.

STRANGERS

PERFORMER BIO

The combustible Ruby Fuerza exploded out of the Bay Area burlesque scene in January of 2008 and has been regaling a diverse audience of punks, prisoners, and perverts with her sizzling – and silly - performances. Part Gilda Radner, part Emma Goldman, this brunette bombshell thrives on sexy satire and lustful hilarity with a politically conscious twist. As a dancer and choreographer, Miss Fuerza stokes her creative fires with fabulously original numbers that include colorful costumes, bizarre props, and irreverent comedy.

Miss Fuerza, AKA Lucille Brawl, was bred and raised in Morningside Heights in the heart of the exotic Isle of Manhattan. Born into the New York City mayhem of 1984, Ruby already had a flair for rebellion and glitter. She skipped school, shoplifted sunglasses and silk kimonos, read Das Kapital, and danced Violeta Parra protest songs in Spanish Harlem. She once got arrested for sneaking into a Lou Reed concert as an old man in a wheelchair. Throughout high school, she was a true fire-starter, protesting wars, sweatshops, and corporate greed. She organized youth brigades for anti-globalization demonstrations, coining guerilla chic in dark glasses and a face bandana.

At 18, she left the Big Apple to lead a dull, unsatisfying life at an Ivy League university she doesn’t like to talk about. She finished her degree in three years, and got the hell out of academia forever by 2006. She packed up her vintage sundresses, curling irons, and work boots, and headed south. With style and grace she worked alongside cafeteleros in Zapatistaland, Mexico. She marched with picketing telephone workers in Buenos Aires. She harvested yucca in solidarity with Cubanos in Havana. She waited around at a lot of airports (but never without lipstick).

After these travels, she landed a job as a union organizer in San Francisco and finally took her passion for theatrics and stage make-up to the big Bay stages, enrolling in Bombshell Betty’s School of Burlesque the day after she moved to San Francisco. In 2008, she began performing with the Burlesqueteer Troup and has been moving crowds to ribald ecstasy ever since. She has performed at Stage Werx Theater, Benders, Annie’s Social Club, and the Uptown Club in Oakland. She is world-renowned for her parodies of Carmen Miranda. Her Frida Kahlo act subtly engages in the politics of immigration. Her Bearded Lady act asks the audience to question its notion of gender. In her most recent performance, “Caketease,” she devised a homemade 4-foot cake for a steamy homage to cake strippers, diabetics, and anyone with a sweet tooth for Jerry Lee Lewis.